The Issue of Gun Control

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Since the Valentine’s Day attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas students left 17 dead, the polarizing issue of gun control has sprung up once again in the media. The eighteenth shooting of 2018 has resulted in many demanding legislative action to be taken in order to prevent the loss of more lives to individuals’ senseless actions.

Americans, especially victims of the Parkland shooting, have stunted sharing sympathy with the lives lost and have immediately mobilized — effectively demanding for legislative change. Surpassing Columbine as the high school shooting with the most casualties, Parkland has marked a turning point for countless Americans.

Despite mass shootings being cultivated into an epidemic, the effort to pass legislation that would limit guns altogether is proved futile. Instead, many conservative politicians have attempted to compromise. For instance, Marco Rubio proposed a modest gun safety plan which involves raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21 and banned bump stocks.

Among politicians, both liberal and conservative, to respond to the demand for gun control, President Trump has proposed training and arming teachers in order to prevent another massacre. While this plan may seem to provide a sense of security, it is inane to assume all instructors will be comfortable handling a weapon in a classroom setting. Above all, this solution only adds more guns into the equation — potentially worsening the gun problem in our nation.

Because American politics are built on a foundation of compromise, it is too idealistic to assume that our representatives will vote to ban guns altogether. However, any attempt to form barriers to prevent another national crisis is indeed progress.

Because politicians who devoutly follow the second amendment are beginning to understand the demands of Americans, hopefully no one will have to suffer from another crisis like the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting again.